Page 1 of The Player I Can’t Pick

CHAPTER 1

GUY

I have my hat pulled low on my head as I nurse a beer and watch the crowd. I got into Jasper a little earlier than expected. Since my flight to Ohio doesn’t leave for another few hours, I stopped at a bar near the stadium to grab some food before heading to the airport.

I traded my Jasper Bears hat for one with my brother’s ranch name stitched across the front, hoping it would make me a little less noticeable.

So far, it’s working, but I’m not sure how long my luck will hold.

It’s Friday night, and even though the Bears aren’t playing at home, downtown Jasper is packed. The bar is filled with a mix of people who just got off work and are ready to wind down for the weekend and others who are already getting a head start on their drinking.

I take another swallow of my beer, scanning the crowd, and my gaze lands on her almost immediately.

She’s standing at a high top a few tables away, and beautiful doesn’t begin to cover it. Long red hair pulled up in a high ponytail, and every so often, she reaches up to tuck a stray strand behind her ear. She has big eyes, long lashes, and a set of tits that has me tightening my grip around my beer bottle.

The rest of her is just as tempting.

She’s soft and curvy in a way that makes my mouth water, wearing dark jeans and a green shirt that hugs every inch of her. She looks like the kind of woman a man could lose himself in and never want to find his way out.

If it weren’t for the fact that she looks at least ten years younger than me, I’d already be standing beside her table and asking her name.

She glances my way, then quickly looks down at her phone.

A few seconds later, she does it again.

I sit a little straighter. Does she recognize me?

It wouldn’t be the first time someone spotted me under a baseball cap. After almost eighteen years in the majors, there aren’t many places I can go without someone knowing my face. Most days, I don’t mind. I signed up for this life, and the fans are the reason I get paid an obscene amount of money to play a game I love.

Tonight, though, I don’t want to be Guy Brody, legendary Jasper Bears player.

I want a burger, a cold beer, and a quiet flight out of town.

Someone knocks into the back of my chair, and a man mutters an apology. I keep my head down, careful not to draw any attention, but then I hear the conversation happening behind me.

“That’s her, right?”

There’s a pause before the other guy says, “Let me see your phone.”

“I matched with her on Pick Me. She looks good in her profile.” He laughs under his breath. “Fuckable, anyway.”

My fingers tighten around my bottle.

For a few seconds, neither man says anything. I tell myself to ignore them. Guys say stupid shit in bars all the time, and it isn’t any of my business.

Then one of them lets out a loud laugh.

“Fuck, dude. That’s her. Her profile says curvy, but that’s not curvy. That’s thick.”

I set my bottle on the table before I crush it in my hand.

Turning slightly, I look at the two men behind me. They’re both wearing Jasper Bears hats, which somehow makes me hate them more. They don’t deserve to be wearing the logo. One is holding a phone while the other stares across the bar.

I follow his gaze.

They’re looking at her. The woman I’ve been trying not to imagine naked since I first noticed her.

My jaw clenches. The two men start going back and forth, debating whether the one who matched with her should stay or sneak out before she sees him.